The Worst Deleted Scene in Star Wars History

[Winter]

No matter how good a writer you are there are always going to be scenes that are left on the cutting room floor. Most of the time there's a reason these scenes are deleted, be it pacing, it was unneeded because another scene did something similar and was better or because not having the scene added to the story somehow 9 times out of 10 this scene being removed was a good thing.

Then sometimes you get a scenes that were MUCH better then what we got in the film proper and really should have stayed in the film instead of what we got. A good example of this is the scenes from Attack of the Clones with Padme's family and her childhood home. While you could argue that moments like their first kiss and the scene where Padme told Anakin that they could never be together are important to their romantic arc even with the awkward and terribly corny dialogue.

However, the meadow scene and the dinner scene were most certainly NOT needed and really should have been cut from the film altogether with the deleted scenes with her family remaining as they are, lets be honest, MUCH better then the meadow scene.

While the scene with her family doesn't add much in terms of plot or character it's still better then what we got. By contrast the other deleted scenes in the Prequels I get why they were cut and we didn't really lose much by their exclusion. Same thing goes from the Original Trilogy and the Disney Sequel Trilogy... Except for one notable exception The Last Jedi where most of the deleted scenes REALLY should have stayed in the movie instead of what we actually got like Finn's original confrontation with Phasma, the Elevator scene with Finn and the Storm Troopers, Luke and Leia showing them actually moaning Han's loss and most damning of all, The Lie.

If you saw the movie or had to spend time analyzing it for a review (hi) you might have noticed that despite Luke saying he will teach Rey three lessons we only see him teaching her two and while Rey isn't exactly thrilled about Luke's "Lessons" she's not overly annoyed at him either and nothing suggests that she's getting angry with him enough to outright attack him to defend the honor of a mass murderer. That's because the third lesson which, is a scene that for me again highlights that Rian Johnson didn't really understand Star Wars.

The scene in question Luke has Rey telling Rey to not go and stop a village from being raided and that she should just let the raiders raid the place because (deep, beleaguered sigh) that's what a Jedi would do... I hate this argument for the same reason I hated the same argument in The Legend of Korra Season 2 where Unalaq tells Korra that she should not interfere with his dictatorial rule because the Avatar is suppose to remain neutral in conflict, it's a contrived conflict that goes against what we've seen in the series itself.

The Avatar and Jedi are PEACE KEEPERS, they don't set out to cause problems they work to resolve them. Sometimes that can be done without ever hurting anyone and sometimes that requires them to pick a side and take on those who are using their power to hurt those weaker than them. In Star Wars the first anyone ever even heard of a Jedi it was someone asking them to get involved in a galatic war and the Jedi in question decided to get involved without any hesitation. And if you go by the movies in chronological order the first time we see a Jedi they're ALREADY getting involved in a conflict and stay involved until the conflict is resolved.

This scene further shows Johnson's interpretation of the Jedi, that they are ineffective, that they do more harm then good and while were going to learn that Luke is just being an utter twat here the way the scene is presented frames it as if Luke is speaking the truth and since that ties the whole idea to let the past die it further cements that Luke is being at least somewhat serious.

These might very well have been why this scene was deleted but here's why I see this as the worst overall deleted scene in Star Wars history and it's tied into why I call it the Lie instead of Rey's Third Lesson and that reason is, Luke is F#cking lying.

Yeah, there are no raiders the villagers are just throwing a party and Luke comes in after Rey sees that everything is fine with a smile on his face. Rey then, understandably, walks out while glaring at Luke and Luke looks guilty because it's clear that he finally took things one step to far.

And this is annoying because it explains EVERYTHING that follows. Rey now falling for Kylo is because Luke just lied to her about letting people die so she's now vulnerable and more easy to manipulate which is why Snoke choose this moment to have her little chat with Kylo. It explains why Rey is so angry with Luke as him lying about letting people die and basically laughing at her is something that is so mean spirited and Gandhi would have wanted to punch Luke. And it explains why Luke decided to open up to the Force as he realized he took things to far and wanted to connect to someone he was close to hence why him sensing Leia is so important.

And most importantly this scene is actually about Rey. For most of the film, and this is counting the other deleted scenes, Rey has been a secondary player in the story with almost all her screen time being about Luke and Kylo. This scene changes the nature of the scenes the other two lessons which gave very for Rey to do and here she starts to move away from Luke, both literally and figuratively, whereas before she kept trying to get him to join the fight. This scene gives Rey a relatable reaction to a rather horrible and overall tasteless joke just because Luke wanted to troll her.

And that's why I see this the worst deleted scene in Star Wars, I don't actually like the scene on it's own as it further emphasis that Johnson didn't understand Luke or the Jedi and yet it's the most important moment for Rey's character in the film that is actually about her instead of being about Luke and Kylo Ren. It's really a no win scenario when you get right down to it, it's needed for the plot to make sense because without it Rey just decides to take the word of someone she has no reason to trust over someone who's not actually done anything wrong to Rey personally because said person (who we know already killed everyone who wouldn't join him when he went to the Dark Side) as nice to her.

[Jonathan101]

I could be wrong but I don't think it was technically a "deleted" scene because I think they only planned it but never filmed it.

But yes, it was a terrible idea. It basically turns Luke into Kreia and makes me think that Johnson would rather be directing KOTOR II.

[Winter]

I could be wrong but I don't think it was technically a "deleted" scene because I think they only planned it but never filmed it.

But yes, it was a terrible idea. It basically turns Luke into Kreia and makes me think that Johnson would rather be directing KOTOR II.

No, they filmed, they edited it, it's on the blue ray and I'm amazed at just how it manages to be the worst of both worlds. It's vital to the plot, is not a good scene and makes the film was a whole worse both by its absence and its inclusion. With Attack of the Clones at least the deleted scene were overall enjoyable and would have improved the film but TLJ manages to be a film I like less and less the more I watch it and learn about it.

The thing about Johnson is that he has a very sacrifice style, he writes stories with characters that are incompetent and unlikable and that incompetence drives the narrative. This is the case for both Looper and Knives Out as those films also had idiot characters who are all at least a little unlikable and that's fine. It worked in those films but Johnson had to make everyone who was overall competent and likable in The Force Awakens into the type of characters he was used to writing to make his film work.

I think that's why he was so interested in Kylo, he fits Johnson's character type to a T. Unlikable and rather incompetent hence why TLJ puts so much more emphases on Kylo then Rey. Yeah she has more screen time but she spends more of her time talking about Luke and Kylo and almost no time about herself. I wonder if that's why Johnson had this scene deleted because there was no way for him to work in Kylo. Note that the other two lessons end up being about Kylo in some way but in the third lesson I don't think he gets mentioned even once.

[Jonathan101]

Oh. My mistake.

Still glad it wasn't in there. TLJ is bad enough as it is. Star Wars isn't meant to inspire hatred but that's what I felt when I left the theatre- I would have been especially angry if anything like that was in there.

(on that note, it was after TLJ that I noticed that none of the sequels had any classical Jedi philosophy about "anger, fear, hatred etc" being corrupting and paths to the Dark Side- just another example of how none of them "got it").

[Winter]

Oh. My mistake.

Still glad it wasn't in there. TLJ is bad enough as it is. Star Wars isn't meant to inspire hatred but that's what I felt when I left the theatre- I would have been especially angry if anything like that was in there.

(on that note, it was after TLJ that I noticed that none of the sequels had any classical Jedi philosophy about "anger, fear, hatred etc" being corrupting and paths to the Dark Side- just another example of how none of them "got it").

Eh, happens you have to be SUPER Obsessive about Star Wars like me to know trivial $#!t like this AND have actually gone to the trouble of seeing something you know you'll know you'll dislike just to see if it's actually that bad.

But as much as I hate it, it IS a scene that should have stayed in the movie because the plot makes little to no sense without it. In one scene Rey is telling Luke how she won't fail him like Kylo did in the next scene Rey starts taking Kylo's word over Luke's. Even if a scene is bad if it's necessary to understand the plot it should be left in.

And to your last point, yeah that's something that's been bugging me since film one where Rey used her anger as in her first fight with Kylo and way it's framed, to just let the Force flow through her it came of like something a Sith would do because it was clear that Rey was letting her anger give her a boast in combat which is a VERY Sith thing to do. I figured this would be used in the next film and be used as a part of her character arc given how little development she had in TFA. But Nope, she just uses her anger in a fight and the films never seem to notice a problem with that until the very end where she uses to to beat Kylo... again... and then undoes her mistake and then does the exact same thing AGAIN in her confrontation with Palpatine.

"Is the Dark Side Stronger?"
"No. Quicker, easier more seductive."
"But how am I to know hte good from the Bad?"
"You will Know, when you are calm. At peace."

These are words that TDST treats as non important even though it's at the heart of the series and yet Rey keeps taking shortcuts. Keeps using her anger in a fight until the bitter end no matter how much it breaks the story and many fans enjoyment of the series.

[Thebestoftherest]

You make a good point.

[Riedquat]

Oh. My mistake.

Still glad it wasn't in there. TLJ is bad enough as it is. Star Wars isn't meant to inspire hatred but that's what I felt when I left the theatre- I would have been especially angry if anything like that was in there.

That more or less happened to me - not quite to that degree but I didn't leave the cinema in a good mood. The Rise of Skywalker might've been slammed too but it didn't have that effect on me.

[Winter]

So, I found out why Johnson deleted this scene and I actually dropped my jaw at this. It was due to pacing issues. Yes, a two minute scene that is rather vital to Rey's arc was cut because it slowed the film down... I might understand this if it wasn't for Finn and Rose arc, the space chase and THE ENTIRE FOURTH ACT OF THE MOVIE!!!

This movie is 2 and a half hours long and doesn't need to be and I'd argue that the worst part of the movie is the 4th act but the Lie runs at just a little over two minutes, is needed for the plot and character actions to make sense. If you're so concerned about pacing then why did you make Finn and Rose's arcs entirely pointless?

So, just to recap, scene that helps explain why Rey would fall for Kylo and turn on Luke and actually give her more to do instead of just the one to bridge the gap Luke and Kylo, taken out due to pacing issues. A scene were someone talks about the evils of war profiteering and a random character who talks about how totally not bad war profiteering is that together run in at about 4 minutes of screen time that doesn't actually add anything to the plot, that gets to stay.

[Beelzquill]

Wow, it is amazing to me just how much this changes my opinion on Rey in TLJ. I think I would still hate the movie, in fact I think I would hate the movie more for making Luke even worse than he was in the original movie, but I would at least understand why Rey acted the way she did. This really is one of the worst deleted scenes in Star Wars history. Rian Johnson should never be allowed to touch an established franchise again.

edit: spelling

[Winter]

Wow, it is amazing to me just how much this changes my opinion on Rey in TLJ. I think I would still hate the movie, in fact I think I would hate the movie more for making Luke even worse than he was in the original movie, but I would at least understand why Rey acted the way she did. This really is one of the worst deleted scenes in Star Wars history. Rian Johnson should never be allowed to touch an established franchise again.

edit: spelling

I know, right? Though I wouldn't say that Johnson should never be allowed in the series but I think including him in the Trilogy was a mistake given how much he had change about the characters to fit his style of writing (never a good sign) and that he decided to resolve the main story in part 2 of 3 meaning that Episode 9 was going in with basically nothing to really work with.